Taking No Flak

Rip It Up, Issue 243, 1 November 1997, Page 9

Taking No Flak

After riding out a shaky start to her recording career, singer/songwriter Lole has a NZ Music Award and a new record deal with Deepgrooves.

I I grew U P n Wellington, singing in LU It. church groups, before graduating in her teens to local nightclub bands. She shifted to Auckland towards the end of 1994, and immediately contacted the only person she knew in town, producer Phil Fuemana. Within weeks, Lole had contributed a track to Fuemana’s Urban Pacific Christmas compilation, and the following year she sang on records by Matty J, and Wellington’s Igelese. Through this exposure, Lole attracted the . attention of the fledgling indie, Papa Pacific. And then her troubles began. “I signed a contract and stayed with them two years until they folded. It was really hard being on that label, it was basically just a name and nothing else, so I had to do everything myself. With Papa Pacific it was like no one was home! There was no communication for two years and I did one single.” ,>' 1 The single was ‘just Wanna’, a slick, American influenced R&B track, that was unsuited to Lole’s style or taste in music, she says. ' “I wasn’t happy with that song, it’s not what I’m into, I’m from the old school, I like the blues and jazz. That song was trying to be the American flavoured R&B groove, and that’s definitely not me. All that American stuff sounds the same, it’s mass produced, and there’s no creativity involved.” Lole says the experiences of the previous two years have made her, “a stronger and wiser person,” and out of the whole debacle came the Most Promising Female Vocalist trophy at the Music Awards in April this year. Three months later, Lole answered a phone call at home from Kane Massey, owner of Deepgrooves Entertainment. “The way I got to Deepgrooves, it was sort of done behind my back. I’d got to the point

where I wanted to quit this business, and then out of the blue I got a phone call from Kane, he said, ‘would you like to do an album?’ Kane had been talking to Manu [Taylor, Papa Pacific] and he’d suggested Deepgrooves should take me on. I just said to Kane, ‘don’t fuck me around.’” Lole’s first release through Deepgrooves is a cover of the Roberta Flack hit, ‘Feel Like Making Love’, a song recorded 12 months earlier, at the behest of Papa Pacific. “At the time it was like, ‘we gotta do a song, any remake, off the top of your head, any song you think of, pick it out of the hat.’ It was done under label guidance of what was marketable then. It’s a beautiful song, so to turn it into a 90s R&B groove... that song has been a thorn in my side for the last year. I just wanted to get it out so I could move on. “I’m surprised at doing all this promotion for the single, Festival [Deepgrooves’ distribution company] are going hard out, putting me on TV for a cover version. But I’m glad I’ve got people behind me to look after all that stuff, and I can concentrate on creating my songs and putting an album out.” At her home studio, Lole has spent several months amassing songs for the debut album she intends to call ‘The Journey’. “Well, it’s a journey album of all the styles I’m into. It’s a cross between pop, soul, jazz, and a touch of hip hop. Finally, I’ve got the opportunity to do what I want to do and have some integrity.” Deepgrooves’ plan as it stands is to record Lole’s album in Sydney, utilising the producers) and musicians of her choice, in time for launching early in 1998. “If I’m going to do an album I wanted to put out the best music that I possibly can,” says Lole. “It doesn’t matter to me if a million people buy it or one person buys it. The main thing is to touch people’s hearts — music is a powerful thing, and some people don’t realise how powerful it can be.”

JOHN RUSSELL